Gael hugge



'UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICEQ CARL HUGGENBERG, OF CHEMNITZ, SAXONY,GERMANY.

PROCESS OF TREATING SILK FIBER.

LJ'EECEPICATION forming part of Letters Patent No 339,778, dated April13, 1886.

Application filed September-12, 1885. Serial No, 176,956. (Nospecimens.)

To all whom, it may concern;

Be it known that I, CARL HUGGENBERG, of Chemnitz, in the Kingdom ofSaxony and Empire of Germany, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Processes of Treating Silk Fiber Preparatory to Dyeingand weaving, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to a process of treating silk threads preparatoryto dyeing and weaving; and it consists in immersing thesilk threads in asolution of a suitable tin-salt,and then subjecting the fibers to theaction of asolution of tnngstate of soda, so as to fix the tinsaltsformed thereby in or on the fibers.

In carrying out my invention I preferto use a solution of tetrachlorideoftin, ofthe strength of 20 Banm, in which the silk threads are steepedfor about an hour. In place of the tetrachloride of tin, the doublesalts of tetra chloride of tin, or stannate of alkali, containing anequivalent amount of oxide of tin may be employed. The silk threads are,after steepi1ig.\vithdrawn from the solution and the surplusliquorremoved by wringing the hanks, after which they are transferred to asolution of tungstate of soda, of 40 Baum, in which the hanks alsoremain for about an hour. The

hanks are then wrung so as to removethe surplus liquor, washed, and thenagain placed in a weaker solution of tetrachloride of tin, or otherequivalent tin-salt, of 10 Baum, and finally placed in a bath of weakinnriatic acid formed of three parts of concentrated muriatic acid andone hundred parts of water, and finally thoroughly washed.

By the formation of tungstate of tin in or on the fibers by the actionof the tungstate 0f sodaon the tin-salts referred to the silk fibers areenlarged and adapted to be dyed more evenly, whereby the brilliancy ofthe color is increased, greater body and durability produced, and thefibers rendered less inflammable.

I am aware that oxides of tin and their hydrates and tungstate saltshave been used as a mordant and also as a means for making the fibersnon-inflammable, and I do not claim either one of these applications,but confine myself to the fixing of thetin-salt by the tungstate of sodain or on the fibers.

Having thus described my invention,l claim CARL HUGGENBERG.

\Vitnesses:

RUDOLF KRETZSCHMAR, BENNO J OHANES SCHMIDT.

